A Love Born Of Fire
by Phoenix0725
Summary: A collection of MarcoAce drabbles, written for various memes on Tumblr. It's marked as complete, but will be updated every once in a while.
1. College

**_Yo! So, most of you have probably already read this, but I'm also posting it here on FF for those who haven't. Enjoy~! As usual, beta'ed by lunarshores!_**

* * *

Ace had no idea where he was. What a great way to start his college experience. He looked around for anyone who might help him find his way to the chemistry lab, but unfortunately, there was no one around. Everyone had already gone to their respective classes.

Ace groaned and sat down on a nearby bench. He opened up the map he had crumpled just seconds ago and tried to figure out where he was.

A few minutes later he still had no idea. He threw his head back and sighed. Staring at the open sky seemed to clear his head. The few clouds in the sky were a shocking white color, which contrasted with the electric blue of the sky. The sun shone brightly, its rays caressing Ace's skin with their warmth.

The moment was ruined when a sudden gust of wind blew the map of the campus from his hand. Deft fingers reached out in a futile attempt to catch the parchment before it floated out of reach. Ace stood up and started chasing the piece of paper that was his only way around the campus. He raced past the buildings, not caring about where he was going.

And then he crashed into someone. Ace fell to the ground with a groan of pain.

"I'm sorry, I should have been looking where I was going," he apologized to the person standing above him. Ace looked up… and everything seemed to freeze. The man standing before him looked to be about 35 years old. He had light blond hair piled up atop his head in a… _unique_… hairstyle that reminded Ace of a certain tropical fruit, his half-lidded blue eyes were the same exact color as the sky above them, and he wore a dark gray suit, from under which peeked out a light blue button-up shirt. He reached out his hand to help Ace up.

"It's alright," he smiled as Ace took the offered hand. Once he was upright again, he looked around.

"…You wouldn't happen to have seen a flying piece of paper anywhere around here, would you?" The man laughed. It was a soft, melodic sound that may or may not have made Ace blush.

"No, sorry." Ace sighed and looked down. Upon noticing their hands were still connected he quickly withdrew his and hid it behind his back.

"Damn it. Can you tell me where the chemistry lab is, then?" He asked carefully, ignoring the heat that was quickly spreading over his cheeks. The blond smiled.

"It's where I'm going right now. I suppose that makes you one of my students. Come with me." The blond started walking in the direction of a small building that looked to have a few windows too many. "You can call me Marco."

"Ace," he replied, following after him.

When his teacher directed that warm smile at him again, he knew he was irrevocably _fucked_.


	2. Mundane or Domestic

_**Please don't kill me! *hides behind a rock***_

* * *

He hadn't seen them coming. How could he have? The first punch hit Ace squarely in the solar plexus. He fell backwards, bending over and clutching his stomach.

They didn't just want his wallet. The wanted to cause someone pain, and he just happened to be the first person they came across.

They were incredibly lucky that he couldn't defend himself.

Ace didn't have time to catch a breath, before another punch was thrown, this time hitting him in the face. Ace felt his lip split and blood start flowing down his chin. He heard the first drop hit the ground. His body followed soon after.

He hadn't believed Luffy when his brother had told him that the streets were a dangerous place at night. He hadn't listened to Sabo when he'd told him not to go out past 7 PM. Nothing ever happened to him, anyway. His life was, for lack of better terms, _mundane_. And now, as he was being kicked and punched as he lied there, he wished he had.

He wondered when it was going to end. He wondered _if_ it was going to end. They had already taken his wallet- he'd felt a hand slip into his jacket pocket before. What more could they want? Was killing someone their idea of _fun_?

He ripped from his musings as he heard a crack, followed by a sharp pain in his chest. They must've broken a rib. Ace moved to place his hand over the injured area, to protect it from further harm.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Ace turned his head in the direction of a male voice.

"C'mon guys, let's go!" The voice was so young. Teenagers? Ace heard them run the other way, their feet hitting the sidewalk hard and loud. Slowly, Ace pushed himself up. His whole body hurt like a bitch, but he didn't think they broke any bones besides his rib. Speaking of which, it was getting a little hard to breathe. Ace was sure that in a day or two, he would look like a child's drawing- painted different shades of purple, blue, green and yellow. He didn't react as one set of footsteps quickly neared him.

"Are you alright? They didn't hurt you too badly, did they?" Ace turned his head towards the voice. The hand that wasn't supporting him against the wall of the building behind him travelled to his lips to try and stop the blood flow.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," he replied shakily. The man came even closer.

"Shit, you don't look so good," the man replied, not giving a second thought to what Ace had just said. "Hang on, I'm calling 911." Ace could hear his clothes rustle as he reached for his phone.

"No, seriously, I'm fine." Honestly, he was far from that, but he didn't want to be around this man any longer than he had to. He just wanted to get his phone and call either Luffy or Sabo. Either one was fine, really. He just wanted to be around someone he trusted. "Where are my things?" Ace asked. The man slowly put his phone back in his pocket.

"…They're right in front of you."

* * *

Marco looked at the face of the man before him, who looked as though he'd fall over again any second.

"Fuck…" he breathed, as he took in the sight of his eyes. They were completely clouded, with no visible pupil. _He was blind_. Those gangster wannabes had attacked a blind man. He grimaced in disgust.

Marco didn't stare for too long. Instead, he turned his gaze towards a pair of broken sunglasses, a shopping bag, and a white cane with a red tip lying before him. No wonder he hadn't tried to defend himself. How could he, when he had no idea where anything was? He picked up the items and handed them to the other man, making sure that they came in contact with his skin so that he would know they were there. After a slight flinch at the unexpected gesture, he easily took them from him. The man started rummaging in the bag, before pulling out a phone. He pressed a button. When nothing happened, he put it away again, groaning.

"Damn it! Voice operated shit doesn't work when it's needed," he ground out. Marco took out his own phone again.

"Do you want to use mine? You can… umm… tell me the number and I'll dial it for you." The stranger furrowed his eyebrows in displeasure, before reluctantly voicing the phone number he wanted to call. When he finished dialing, Marco read it back to him to make sure he got it right, getting a nod of the head as confirmation.

"My name's Marco," he said as he pressed the call button and gave the other man the phone.

"I'm Ace."


	3. Camp Counselors

_**The conversation between Ace and Marco and everthing that happens after it is all lunarshores :D**_

_********__Beta'ed by lunarshores._

* * *

Ace had thought that this day would be just like any other. After all, how could anything interesting happen if you were a counselor at a children's camp? If anyone had asked Ace when he'd woken up, he would have said it couldn't.

Just like every day this past week, as soon as they'd eaten breakfast, Ace took the children into the woods. Ace had already taught them how to recognize poisonous plants, so today, as a reward, they were going from a swim in a nearby lake. It was _supposed_ to be fun.

Of course, that was _before_ Ace hauled a body out of the river. The children gathered around him and the man he was carefully putting down on the soft sand. Ace told them to take two steps back and told one of the older children to dig his phone out of his jacket and call 911. He ignored the screams from some of the younger kids and checked for a pulse.

He was _very_ surprised when he found one, although it was very weak. When he noticed that the man wasn't breathing, Ace immediately began to administer CPR. First, he checked to see if anything was in the stranger's mouth. Having found nothing blocking his airways, he leaned down, placed his own mouth over the man's and started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Two breaths later found Ace putting his palms on the man's chest, pushing his arms down. After thirty chest compressions, he leaned in to give the man mouth-to-mouth once more, his own heart beating ferociously in his ribcage.

Fortunately, it didn't have to come to that, because the man's eyes snapped open and he started coughing. Ace carefully helped turn him so that he was lying on his side. The water to leave his lungs quickly, as he lied back down on his back and took a few quick breaths, blue eyes staring uncomprehendingly at the sky. When those eyes turned to him, Ace found that he couldn't look away. Now that Ace was actually looking at him, he noticed that, despite the man being soaked to the bone, he was very handsome. Blond hair framed a handsome face, and his blue eyes seemed to reflect the sky itself. Ace forced himself to turn away and looked for something to cover the stranger with. After all, it wouldn't do for him to die of hypothermia after all Ace had just gone through to save him.

The blond looked up at him, dazed. Ace checked his pupils, and they seemed a bit different. Maybe it was just a trick of the light.

"Hey, I'm Ace. What's your name?" The blond blinked up at him.

"You're reahlly prutty." He slurred his words to the point Ace had trouble distinguishing them. The kids understood just fine, unfortunately, and started laughing madly.

So, maybe he wasn't imagining the pupil thing.

"That's nice, but can you tell me your name?" The man frowned, then seemed to think about it for a second.

"Maaarco. Wha's yours? Your haaair is sooooooo shiney." The kids were now giggling uncontrollably.

"I'm Ace. Okay, Marco. I need you to focus. Can you give me a number to call? Someone's probably very worried about you."

"Toooo col' to ffoocus." He lit up. "I knoooow." Suddenly Ace had a lapful of a very hot, wet Marco. He snugged into Ace. "Waaaaarrrm." He sighed contentedly. Ace blushed bright red. Somehow, he was pretty sure this wasn't how rescues were supposed to go.

"Wha' wasss tha' about a phoooone numer?" Marco mumbled into the side of neck. "You can haf mine. I liiike you. Your waaarm and your hair is sooooo shiiiiiny." Ace heard the distant roar of sirens. Thank goodness. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. He gestured to one of the older kids to come closer. The brat was one of the troublemakers.

"I'm just going to assume you have this all on video." The kid's smirk was all the answer he needed. "Fine, but send me a copy, alright? I'm pretty sure he needs to see this when he wakes up." Ace smirked at him, for once in perfect harmony with the kid.


	4. New Neighbors

**_Beta'ed by lunarshores. You can once again thank her for the ending ^^_**

* * *

Ace slammed him chemistry book shut as more boisterous laughter reached him ears. He scowled put a pillow over his head in an attempt to muffle the noise. When that didn't work, he rolled off the bed and fell to the ground with a thud, before getting up and making a beeline for the front door of his apartment.

He had just about had enough of his new neighbor. Ace walked out of his apartment, not bothering to lock the door behind him. He started angrily making his way in the direction of the noise. Ace forced the scowl to leave his face. It wouldn't do to start off rude, after all. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

There was no response.

He clenched his other fist, before knocking on the door again, this time a little louder. Just when he was about to knock a third time, he heard the click of the lock. The door was suddenly pulled open. Ace examined the man's face with a slight amount of curiosity. His hair was blond, shaved on the sides, and left to grow on the top of his head. All in all, it was a very unique hairstyle, and it reminded Ace of a pineapple. The man's piercing blue eyes looked at Ace's face. He was slightly flushed, and if Ace had to guess, he would say it's because of the alcohol he just knew they had to be consuming at a party this loud.

"Can I help you?" the man asked. Ace cleared his throat.

"Uhhh… yeah. I'm Ace, and I live next door," he started. "I was wondering if you could please be a little quieter, because the noise is really bothering me." At a time like this, Makino's lessons on manners really came in handy. He didn't want to get on his new neighbor's bad side already. He almost shuddered as he thought back to his last neighbor. Akainu hadn't been an easy man to live next door to. He did everything he could to make Ace's life hell.

"Oh, sorry about that. I'll try to get my brothers to quiet down a bit," the man said. "My name's Marco," he added as an afterthought.

Ace was just about to thank him and go back to his apartment, when two obviously drunk men appeared behind Marco.

"Who's this?"

"Oh, Marco, you didn't tell me you had a new boyfriend! He's so cute!" The man wearing a traditional kimono grabbed Ace's hand before either Marco or Ace could protest. The next thing Ace knew he had been pulled into the house and was sitting next to man who'd introduced himself as Izo, Marco's brother, trying to answer an avalanche of questions. He never got back to his chemistry book that night.


	5. Childhood

_**I just realized that I never posted this drabble on FF... The prompt was Childhood!AU**_

_**Beta'ed by lunarshores!**_

_**Guest (chapter 3): It was attempted murder :P And then the concussion made Marco act all weird- you can thank lunarshores for that part :D  
**_

_**Guest (chapter 4): I guess that I can try, if I get an idea for it. I doubt that you'll be seeing it anytime soon, though, cuz I'm pretty slow when it comes to writing :)**_

* * *

I never thought that I would see him again. Not here… Not ever, really.

But there he was, sitting in the first row, answering the Biology teacher's each and every question. He looked just like I remembered, albeit a little older. The same piercing blue eyes and uniquely styled blond hair. _Huh. I wonder if he remembers me._

In any case, I don't think that my gaze left the back of his head until the bell dismissed us from class. I quickly gathered my stuff and left the classroom before anyone else had the time to stand up from their seat. I spent the whole break avoiding him. Avoiding Marco. It was stupid, I know. I mean, come on! We used to be the best of friends. Well, at least until I moved away…

I didn't know what I should do. On the one hand, I really, really didn't want to see him. It brought back too many memories, both happy and painful ones. On the other hand, though, I wanted to talk to him one more time, to remind him that I existed, even though we hadn't had any contact over the last few years.

I decided to go to the bathroom and splash some water over my face in order to clear my head. Gazing at my reflection in the mirror, I couldn't help but wonder how much I had changed over the years. I didn't think it was much, but I was probably wrong.

At the moment, I really wanted to just disappear. All of these conflicting emotions were starting to give me a headache. I wiped my face with my sleeve, ignoring the few drops that slid down my neck and soaked into the collar of my shirt. The moment I walked out of the bathroom, the bell rang, signaling that it was time to return to class. I could only hope that I wouldn't have to see the transfer student again. At least, not until I figured out what I should do about him.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. I paid even less attention to the teachers than usual, which, of course, didn't go unnoticed. I didn't care.

I took my time leaving the school building. It's not like I had anywhere to be. Well, that, and the fact that I was waiting for Marco to leave first. Yep. I was _still _avoiding him. I spent a good 20 minutes hiding out in the library, pretending to be interested in some books that looked like they were at least a century old, before I decided that I had waited long enough.

The hallway was clear. I only saw two or three people on my way to the ground floor of the building. Thankfully, none of them turned out to be Marco.

I pushed the door open and took a deep breath. Fresh air. What a nice change…

"I was wondering when you'd leave." I snapped my head in the direction of the voice, already knowing who it belonged to. I guess I should've taken the back exit, though a small, traitorous part of me was happy that I would get to speak to the person that I had only been able to see in my dreams or in old photos for the past few years.

Anyway, when I didn't answer right away, Marco's expression lost some of the confidence that I had always admired in him.

"You remember me, right?" Oh, how much that hurt to hear. As if I could actually forget about him. Never in a million years, no matter how much I tried…

"Of course I do, Marco. It's just that… I'm not really sure what I should say." Marco took a step forward and reached out his arms, but they almost instantly fell back to his sides.

"I missed you so, _so _much Ace. This… _All of this_," he gestured around him, "It feels like a dream." I had to agree. I still wasn't completely sure that it wasn't a dream, though. It wouldn't be the first time my mind played such a trick on me. Situations like that usually ended with me waking up on a pillow wet with tears I shed without my consent.

It was at that moment that I decided that I didn't care anymore. I just wanted to spend a few moments with the person who I had loved for such a long time. Trying to hold back the tears that had been threatening to spill from my eyes the whole day, I threw my backpack to the ground, not caring whether or not my books fell out, and threw myself forward to embrace Marco. I usually wasn't one for close contact with other people, but this time was an exception. Besides, Marco wasn't just some stranger. He was my best friend. The best friend that I had, hopefully, just gotten back.

"I missed you, too."


	6. Lost at Sea

_**Written for an Anon on Tumblr. Prompt: Lost at Sea. It's written in Ace's POV.**_

_**Beta'ed by lunarshores!**_

* * *

To say that I was surprised to open my eyes would be an understatement.

I was alive.

It really seemed impossible.

The room I was in looked a bit like a hospital room, but there were a few differences that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Something was beeping next to my ear, and there was an IV hooked up to my arm.

At the moment, I didn't really care about all of that. I just wanted to find out how in the world I was alive after the shipwreck. My fists clenched in anger just thinking about it.

That damn traitor! My own crewmember… He'd lured us into a trap. I remembered the way my blood had boiled when I'd seen him walk onto the Marine ship that was boarding ours as if he owned it. Well, it didn't turn out to be that far from the truth. Most of, if not all, of my crew had been killed, and they'd bound me to the mast of my boat and let it sail. I was lucky that I hadn't come across any severe storms. At least, not that I remembered. I lost consciousness after 3 days or so.

I had been certain that I wouldn't survive, yet, somehow, I was here.

I guess these people hadn't realized that I was a wanted man.

I slowly swung my legs over the side of the bed I was in. The world whirled around me, darkness swarming my vision, and I had to grab hold of the IV drip so as not to fall. Once my eyesight returned, I carefully stood up, holding the IV drip tighter when my legs threatened to buckle beneath me. Inch by inch, I made my way across the vast expanse of the room with the drip in hand. Upon opening the door, I was met with the sight of a long hallway. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all made of wood. My eyes widened when I finally noticed the rocking of the building.

Only that I was pretty much certain that it wasn't a building, but a ship. Then again, what did I expect? Of _course _I had ended up on a ship. I had been floating out in the middle of _nowhere_, for goodness' sake!

At least it wasn't a Marine ship. They would have just let me die…

I walked down the long hallway slowly, with one hand on the wall, and the other still holding the IV drip. It was dark. There were a few lanterns here and there, but it wasn't the same as the daylight that had been seeping in through the porthole in the sick bay.

After what felt like forever, I finally came across a door. I took my hand off the wall and pushed it open.

Sunlight.

_Fucking finally!_

The only person I saw on the deck of the ship was a tall blond. He looked up at the sound of my approach and smiled.

How long had it been since I'd seen another human being?

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Alright," I answered. Because I was, despite the aching of my muscles and the dryness in my throat. Oh, and I had a bad headache, but I'd gotten used to those over the few days I had been lost at sea, so I decided to ignore it for the most part. "Where a-" I broke off when my eyes landed on his chest.

Holy _fucking _shit.

His skin was inked with a symbol I recognized quite well, after all of the studying I'd done on this particular crew.

I'd landed on Whitebeard's ship.

_Of all the fucking places in the world…_


End file.
